"Googie" Heaven

Wednesday morning & did we sleep late! We're both up at 8:10, and I thought the Sun would wake us up about 6:30, but our "lone" Cottonwood tree gave us some shade. A few trains in the night..so she says..but I only heard one. It's supposed to be another hot day-about 100-so our A/C will feel good. A light breakie today-cereal, bananas, cookies & coffee & then we're off on a short bike ride thru the town, lookin' for "Googie" (old style signage from the 50's) signs. Lots of motels, both closed & open & restaurants of the same nature. A ride over the Green River & it's more like a Hershey Milk Chocolate color..from big rains upstream. The State park by the same name is much greener & a nice looking golf course winds around it-one person playing. We both ride about 14 miles & it's already 92 at 10:30. Back to the camper, get the suits & go for a dip to cool off in the KOA pool. Get ready for some hiking at one of the parks we'll go to today, but first a sandwich & a cooler of pop & water to take. Off we go to I-70 & Up 191 toward Canyonlands National Park. A right turn off of the hiway & it's another 21 miles to the entrance & the visitor center, and once again, no charge! (for us old people) We've never been here so it's a big adventure! A lot of great views along the way & we get to the "Island in the Sky" Visitor Center & buy a few things before driving on the main road to all of the overlooks and trailheads. The canyon overlooks are unbelievable!(in all directions)...we stop at the first hike of the day: a 1/2 mile walk to the Mesa Arch...WOW! A 1000' drop just past the arch & another one in the distance. The Colorado River is down there somewhere, but you can't see it..too deep of a canyon wall. On to the Grand View Point overlook and lots of dark clouds to the south, and some sprinkles here now. What a panoramic view..our cameras won't do this justice. At least with the clouds & rain, the temp drops to 80, and we are at 6200' by now. back up the road to the "Upheaval Dome"-which nobody can really explain & it's a 1 1/2 mile RT hike to see this 2 mile wide crater. Some think it's a salt dome collaspe; others think it was a meteor strike. Whatever it is, it's a site to see. On the way back down, dumb me slips & hits the Nikon camera & looks like I damaged the BIG lens..maybe it's still under warranty. There are hundreds of miles of hiking & driving trails in this park, and it is very rugged here, but beautiful, and established in 1964- a pretty good year! Ok, back on the road, thru the construction to I-70 & west to Green River. Stop for more ice, rest a little, chat with the neighbors-who broke an axle yesterday-and got it fixed already. Great folks around here! We decide to have supper out, so we walk up to Kelly's Tamarisk Restaurant, right on the river and a great view of the impending sunset. The buffet looked good so we opt for that and a cold micro-brew: Uinta Golden Spike Hefeweizen, with a frosty glass. The salad bar , soup, (chowder) & a mixed layout of veggies, chicken, fish, BBQ pork & lemon dessert. I guess we deserved it after our tough, rugged day. A walk back to the popup & lots of kids still in the pool, and the park is packed. Now a nice shower, some bloggin' , reading & listening to the I-pod music. Looks like we're going to go to the Arches National Park tomorrow, but earlier in the day. See ya in Moab.